This Could Get You Killed

[@joeylawn36111]

1:40 "Back when I was fighting in the Civil War"....Blue, Gray, or Butternut???? 😉🙃🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@RT-qd8yl]

I had to stop and rewind that to make sure I heard it right 😄

[@rooster3019]

Gray and Orange, Tennessee Vols! Me too!

[@28hiboy]

Weapon is a Springfield. That would be Federal

[@joeylawn36111]

@@28hiboy But I was wondering what state Hickok45 himself lives in….

[@drivernephi5587]

Joeylawn36111 Kentucky. Met the man myself in Indiana not too far away

[@elainesrottenbottom296]

Hickok45seconds to reload

[@RD-io6sm]

😂

[@davidtolbert6204]

I went to a NRA black powder shoot 40 plus years ago as a kid. One man had a .86 caliber rifle. Engraved on the side was " Happy is he who escapeth me" lol!!!

[@wheelchairric]

100

[@wolfpack4694]

This is a great demo as to why the bayonet was sooooo important

[@jackmeyers7805]

​@@davidtolbert6204 That's badass

[@mikeblair2594]

The "wood screw" is a specially designed screw for just this situation. It has a brass collar so you won't be mucking up your bore. You can get them from track of the wolf for about 6 bucks. That's the easiest way to clear the bore without playing around with the blow out screw that is there for when you either have a situation like this or if for some reason you have something stuck in the bore, this will blow out before the breech goes. So that's how I do it. Thank for showing that. I've never seen it done before, just had my dad explain it to me when I was about eight. Again thanx

[@matteoorlandi856]

this happened to me the first time i've shot a muzzleloader. a brand new springfield 1861 from pedersoli that a guy never used for like, 20 years and was sold for a fraction of the retail price. well i dry balled it the second round -_- but luckly i had done my research before and the thing was fixed just like that. naturally, after the fact i bought a "wood screw" insert, but this method still works.

[@jacobwilbert1018]

WHAT?😂 I've heard this before, sounds like a wives tale. They still put those on cap locks today. Modern manufacturers are not including built in projectiles as a fail-safe on muzzleloaders. The idea is to not get into the territory of blowing your gun and/or youself up to begin with.

[@wwisaacson4807]

There are two kinds of muzzleloaders, those who have loaded a dry ball and those haven't done it yet.

[@greghardy9476]

Been there, done that!

[@Queequeg61]

I did it fifty years ago with a Hawken fifty.

[@thrifikionor7603]

You mean those who have loaded a dry ball and those who lie

[@MikehMike01]

not as clever as it sounds

[@jacobwilbert1018]

​@thrifikionor7603 That sounds more accurate. Your either lying that you havent done it or lying about being a muzzleloader. If you actually shoot its happens. 🫣

[@barrygrant2907]

I once saw an Xray of a rifle found at Gettysburg that had like 18 loads stuffed in the barrel. Apparently the soldier never put a cap on it and didn't notice the ramrod wasn't going all the way down. The heat of combat does strange things.

[@kevinh6622]

Maybe 2 or 3. Not 18.

[@barrygrant2907]

@@kevinh6622 No sir, it was stuffed nearly to the muzzle.

[@jimmylongguns]

That was actually fairly common. You load for a battle, don't fire and then you load it again. Rince and repeat.

[@shelbyoffrink4424]

There was typically only one in 3-4 people who would shoot. Others were either too scared to shoot or reloaded for others.

[@S.kolenshnikoff]

​@kevinh6622 i think they found a gun with 10 rounds in it, don't know how it happened though as unfortunately I wasn't there 😂

[@CrazyIdahoCowboy]

I've dry balled it a few times too, but found if you just call her by her mothers name things clear up on their own.

[@eltonyancey6426]

🤐🤪

[@rockridgewoodshop]

😂

[@davidbonner6592]

😂

[@rhysmodica2892]

Muzzle loaders have the best euphemisms.

[@berteisenbraun7415]

After civil war battles they found rifles with stacked rounds up to 9 or 10 in a barrel.

[@catiperere]

they didn't quite get the concept of a lever-action xD

[@luisvilas6588]

Killer Instinct; How Many Soldiers Actually Fired Their Weapons in Past Wars & How Has Simulation & Other Training Helped? read it and you ll understand

[@fleatactical7390]

So nervous they underpowdered and kept packing without realizing nothing was coming out.

[@gorbalsboy]

In ww2 about 20% of troops would shoot to kill nowadays it's more like 80%(dont know that's a good thing, and before any teenagers start typing about how much of a woss I am, I am a British army veteran who served in northern Ireland during the troubles 😊)

[@6thmichcav262]

Okay, reality. You’re scared stiff. Thousands of men are firing rifles around you. You can’t tell if yours is going off because the first five rounds made your shoulder numb. There’s so much smoke in the air that you can’t tell what you’re firing at. It’s not just a sign of stupidity.

[@whiskeytango9769]

I have used the metal screw, it has a brass rig to keep the screw threads off the barrel. It works very nicely.

[@battalion151R]

Many years ago, when I was 17, I was with some friends, sober, at the range. We were trying to load as fast as we could. I didn't dry ball my rifle, but did do something pretty stupid. I loaded the rifle, capped it, and raised it up and fired. I could see all this stuff flying around downrange. I had no idea what just happened. The rifle kicked like a mule, too. I started to load my next round and couldn't find my ramrod. Yup! Shot that thing downrange. It was in splinters. I rummaged around in the car and found another dowel rod, so thinking the day wasn't a total loss, returned to the firing line. One of my friends asked if he could shoot my rifle. I said sure and loaded it up. My rifle is a .45 cal., handmade by a mentor, Kentucky with a 40" barrel. The barrel has one of the screw in side drums with the nipple on it. I capped it and handed it to my friend. I was standing to the right of him when he fired. The rifle sounded really loud (this is before anyone was using anything more than cigarette butts as hearing protection. Menthols give you that clean crisp feeling in your ears.). He handed it back and said it was shooting just a little low. I was puzzled. It has a Douglas barrel and is usually quite accurate. I started to reload it and powdered it and rammed the ball down the barrel, but when I went to put the cap on, the drum was gone. Evidently, I must have stressed it with the ramrod, and it blew off during the next discharge. I was very fortunate to have not been struck by the drum as it was blown out of the side of the barrel, and since I was standing to the right of the rifle, it passed by me somewhere. We looked for, but never found, the drum. The threads in the barrel were fine once I got another drum and nipple. It's still in my possession 55 years later and still shoots fine. I have managed to keep my replacement ramrod in one piece.

[@philmann3476]

Old trick I've used but certainly didn't invent is to mark where the muzzle meets the ramrod when the barrel is empty and when a proper load is in place. This lets you quickly check whether you are loaded or empty. Furthermore, if the muzzle falls on neither of your marks, this generally indicates a problem that needs investigation. Works for me.

[@Sparkeycarp]

Yep, I mark mine too.

[@georgew.5639]

I tried to warn you!!! But you couldn’t hear me!!! Lol! 😆

[@ElementofKindness]

Had his ear plugs in. Of course he couldn't hear you!

[@hanswurst2189]

Bro me too I was yelling "no powder charge"!

[@wrwindsor]

BTDT. I bought one of the "screw the ball" gadgets. It had a nylon ring to keep the screw from dinging up the rifling when you ran it down the bore.

[@leewilkinson6372]

The ramrod is steel. I doubt the screw remover used once in a while will do any notable damage....even if not covered in nylon.

[@Pavia1525]

I bet it doesn’t work.

[@kyleheins]

BP gunsmith here. The steel screw will mess up your bore rather quickly, because modern rifling is extremely fine (and wrong), and original progressive rifled barrels are softer than modern screws. Original bullet pullers have a brass ring to guide the screw to the tip of the round and protect the rifle. Also, 1861 military terminology is as follows: touch-hole screw (take out screw), cone (nipple), bullet puller (wood screw). I think the rest are correctly named by Hickok45

[@leewilkinson6372]

@@kyleheins do you note any damage from steel ramrods? Or is it the sides of the screw digging in that causes unique damage? I'm curious because I never dreamed the rifling would be delicate enough for either to damage in a steel barrel.

[@kyleheins]

@leewilkinson6372 modern screws tend to be rather hard compared to old screws, while old rifle barrels were generally unhardened. The rifling has rather fine edges which the screws tend to dent and scratch, creating voids and burrs which damage the ball and can cause the ball to strip past the rifling once the damage is severe enough. This tends to happen with modern rifling in repros, especially with manual prescribed loads. I've seen the skirt of minie balls break off as a result of this stripping effect, and on at least two occasions the skirt stayed in the rifle and was a nightmare to extract. Steel ramrods don't usually damage the barrels because they are smooth sided and soft, however a pitted or misused ramrod can damage the crown in some cases. I haven't seen damage to a ramrod tulip cause damage to the rifling, though that may be due to most damage in muzzle loaders these days taking the form of bore pitting from lack of care. That can also reduce accuracy if it is toward the muzzle, or particularly severe. I've had a couple rifles which were so bad that cleaning implements routinely stuck in the breach area, and were incredibly difficult to remove non-destructively.

[@EIBBOR2654]

Mr Hickok, the method you show here was in an old Black Powder Shooters Bible I had. In that reference they used a round ball Musket that didn't have that side clean out screw. On the old Musket that ball would sit all the way down so you could only get a little powder in it. They stated that you could remove the nipple and work some powder in then cap it and fire it. They said there would only be enough of a charge to push the ball a little way done the barrel. Then you would repeat removing the nipple and you could work a little more powder in, then seat the ball on the powder, cap and fire the Musket. It might take a few trys to get enough powder behind the ball to fire it out. As for me, I stick to the Sharps Breach Loaders with a paper cartridge. I have an 1983 Shiloh Sharps .54 Military rifle I ordered special back in the early 80's that will hold a 140 gr charge. Love that rifle. I once took it to a high power rifle match while I was serving in the USAF. I was on the rifle team shooting the M-14 and wanted to shoot it at the end of the match. After the first shot just about all the Army guys shot up the rest of the ammo I had for it. But they had a lot of fun and so did I when they found it kicked a bit harder than their M-4's. They were also surprised at how accurate it is.

[@omnivore2220]

Hmm. I usually remove the nipple when cleaning the rifle, and grease the threads before putting it back in, even though my rifle also has a clean-out screw. Also, sometimes a clean-out screws can hit the end of the nipple (depending on the mipple's thread length), thus locking the nipple in place, so a trick you can try is to loosen that clean-out screw and then try to remove the nipple.

[@jacobwilbert1018]

Thats good knowledge to pass on. Same thing happens sometimes with touch hole liners when folks are trying to remove their breech plug. So refreshing to read something actually helpful n useful beside the typical internet repeatings of nit picking finger pointing over the same nonsense things everybody has heard an infinite number of times.

[@sqike001ton]

I could be wrong but that only works on modern rifles the original ones the nipples were removable that being said I doubt 90% of people would have an original and of that 10% less the 25% would fire an original

[@Edmund_Mallory_Hardgrove]

I've wanted to build a Ferguson Rifle. It's a breechloading black powder carbine which was designed and made in the 18th century, around the time of the American Revolutionary War. 100 of them were produced and were actually issued and used in the war. It had some problems, it's biggest one was that it was much more expensive to produce then the brown Bess. But overall I think it had a lot of advantage. You could get off about 7 shots a minute. Which in and of itself seems like a huge advantage over the mussel loader, but it's biggest advantage was that it was much easier to load prone, or behind cover then the muzzle loaders.

[@MiaogisTeas]

Wonder if that's the same Ferguson who created a better watch dial. Look it up, the Ferguson Dial

[@yourbadger5486]

​@MiaogisTeas Two different Fergusons, the one that created the rifle came up with the design in 1870 the Ferguson you're mentioning patented the superior watch hand in 1908

[@mikeblair2594]

​@MiaogisTeas the Ferguson of rifle fame was killed fighting on kings mountain.

[@409_Texas]

Always a good day when Hickok posts

[@colt45acp1000]

Ha! Got one up on you! I was deer hunting with my friend’s 50 cal Kentucky long rifle. The weather was misty and rainy. Despite employing the time- honored method of using a sandwich baggie and rubber band to keep the action dry, when I attempted to unload the thing, I got a pfsst, no bang. So I ASSUMED that the powder was wet, but I didn’t KNOW for sure. So, I attached the screw from my cleaning kit to the threaded ramrod. After three attempts, I managed to get the screw to bite into the lead ball. Gradually, while sweating gummibears, I was able to pull the ball out. There was no real cause for alarm, because the powder had morphed into viscous goo. Sheesh!

[@thomastaylor5239]

Good example of why I don’t lend my firearms out

[@Larryw-o2k]

condoms work best

[@tombecht926]

Cover

[@roderick2315]

Fighting in the Civil War Hickok45? LoL

[@BikeThrottleOfficial]

He came out of retirement for it 🫡

[@utar88utar]

yeah, that was a good one

[@beeamerica5024]

But for which side 😁🐝

[@chakko007]

@@beeamerica5024 I can't imagine him as a Yankee. 😉

[@ClaudeBohls]

He is a traveler of both time and space

[@PalKrammer]

At 06:44 - where you admit to intentionally dryballing the rifle - a true teacher for us fans!

[@texaspapa9445]

Y’all have the best channel

[@Alto_C]

i love how hickok was born somewhere between the 1950s and 1850s

[@dhm7815]

At Gettysburg they picked up plenty of dry balled rifles. The ammo was in a cartridge of waxed paper with the slug and the powder. Soldiers often panicked at a misfire and loaded in another cartridge. The Army picked them up at got them working. Some had 3 unignited cartridges. One man got so insane with rage and panic he reloaded 21 cartridges on top of the other.

[@hoosierplowboy5299]

Innovative as always, Hickok!!!😊

[@kenwintin3014]

You gotta learn to listen to Sgt Ken. I was screaming for you to load powder! LOL

[@dalekidd420]

All us black powder guys are sitting here, like "HEY, STUPID, ya forgot the powder!!!". Mind you, that's exactly why the militaries of every damn country using flinters and cappers used PRE-ROLLED PAPER CARTRIDGES! Now I never use those for hunting. But, as a historical re-enactor, that is ALL I use on the field. (We kinda leave out the ball... nobody wants to play with us anymore if we leave those in.) But my unit (portraying Napoleonic era Provincial Marine/Royal Navy) DO live fire WITH ball a couple of times a year, using appropriate historically-based paper cartridges. However... not too long ago, with one of my flintlock hunting rifles, I actually had a wooden ramrod break off inside the barrel. The ramrod was quite old, and had actually started to rot out. I was completely unable to remove it by any of the usual means, including the CO2 blaster... it was just letting too much pressure past it. With no other options, I had to opt for this same method. Like you, I had some FFFFg powder on hand (we use it for making cannon quills), so I decided to use that. I managed to get about 20 grains or so through the vent hole. Then I touched it off with a blowtorch. I think the movie quote that covers this is from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". It goes "Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?". Eeeee-yeah... I should have done the math. My usual blank/target load in that .54 cal. was 60 grains of FFFg. That means that I had almost half my regular non-hunting load behind the remnants of that rod. Well, it WORKED. Cleared the barrel. Mind you, there was nothing bigger than a toothpick to be found of my ramrod. The rod's forward screw-in fitting and my jag are, I assume, SOMEWHERE out in my back forty. I found the smoldering remnants of my cleaning patch about fifteen yards out. Oopsy.

[@MrTexasDan]

Hickok killin me cranking on that antique screw with a standard screwdriver. Invest in a set of hollow-ground screwdrivers.

[@JohnDoeEagle1]

Also using way too much torque. That screw should go in with simple 5 in/lbs thumb and forefinger "twirling" very easily, not cranking on it using 50+ in/lbs of force.

[@Andrew-13579]

“The time this happens most often…”. When they’re charging at you with bayonets affixed, a hootin’ and a hollerin’ about how they’re going to pluck out your bowls!!! And it makes you nervous and you forget the powder …😮 😂

[@bellowphone]

I did warn you! I was shouting at the computer, "You dry-balled it!"

[@doccpu7]

I just went eeyyeeeeeeewww.

[@mcmneverreadsreplys7318]

I have a Flintlock and shoot nothing but round ball. I have, and have used, a ball puller (screw). They are brass mounted and screw into the end of a ramrod (provided it has a female screw hole). Nothing but brass comes contact with the bore. Work great. However, I don't know if there is evidence they existed in the early 1800s (my recreation era). Even if they did it is something extra to carry are possible lose. SOoooo, when I find I have committed the 'ball without powder' boo boo, I generally just pour some FFFF through the touch hole and work it in with the vent pick; it doesn't take much. Then 'feed' the pan and fire it off (always being certain to be pointed in a safe direction - I say for those you believe one must state the obvious.) You get an interesting little Fifff sound (not unlike touching off a small powder pile on the ground). Since I really don't use much powder the the patched ball flys out of the muzzle with all the force of a ball shot with a rubber band sling shot - if that. If you're REALLY lucky, no one noticed and you can pretend it never happened. If your Opps was noticed it pays to have a good 'mountain man story' about the time when old (plug in a name) had the same thing happen - complete with a suitable tale of salvation based on miraculous mountain man skills OR conversely a litany of importune happenstances which (whatshisname) miraculously survived unscathed.

[@arikanerva3178]

Kiitos hyvästä videosta. Oli hyvää huumoria mukana😊 You are the best.

[@jpiper2001]

I wondered about blowing the screw up, thanks for clarifying that concern Alot Weird. Great show.

[@damocsell]

I had a double barrel mini howdah that went through a flood fully loaded I used this trick to clean it out. It took a few tries but worked in the end.

[@DK-sw6xx]

Hey! I remember you! You was that old guy me and my six Zeglar brothers talked to when we signed up out of Illinois. Yeah that tree makes a great cover, my older brother has two holes in his hat from looking around a tree on each side. He didn’t dare look a third time. But we all made it home afterwards by his grace. G.A.R.!

[@hughburgess7201]

4X powder was most commonly used in the primer pans of flintlocks. I have actually used this very technique to take care of just such a problem.

[@johnhamaker8441]

Harrington and Richardson made a muzzle loader with a breach plug, it opened and looked like the single shot shotgun they made for years !

[@Bikewer]

I had one of those! Cute thing….. Stainless-steel breech plug and the “firing pin” was modified into a striker for the percussion cap. Mine was .45 caliber…. Worked quite well… Since the cap was totally enclosed by the action, no danger of flying bits.

[@EDKguy]

The tip of my ramrod broke off while I was cleaning my Hawkins. Luckily, I had a screw tip to get it out with another cleaning rod. All those little accessories come in handy sometimes.

[@bfc3435]

A friend thought it was safe to practice speed loading his muzzle loader because he was using pellets instead of loose powder… big mistake. Rod went through his hand and wrist. He’s lucky to still have use of that hand.

[@nickwalters9311]

im so glad this guy is still around. He was the first guntuber that i started to watch

[@jonathanschadenfreude9603]

which side ya fight for again? great video once more, truly as expected. Saw an internally suppressed 45/70 lever action at an X feed a few months back and thought of you. Hope you and your are doing well. I grew up next to the benoits in duxbury VT and you have always been a must watch for all deer hunters up here@! thx once again

[@JohnPublic-dk7zd]

I learned something...I had always wondered what remedy for the problem...

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

Even though I don’t have one of these I never thought about a dry ball. Good video,

[@Dragonsbrath]

Fascinating video. I always wondered how they would remove the ball in this situation. Having this happen on the battlefield under fire would be disastrous. Excellent video,enjoyed it.

[@eleithias]

No, Hickok! You forgot the powder!

[@johnmorganjr769]

That 1861 Springfield looks like a Crosman 760 air rifle in His grip ! 😆

[@papabones-G48]

I tried to warn you but you didn't hear me! "KEEP ON KEEPIN ON"

[@JuanMotime-yz5pp]

It happens to the best of us. Thanks Friend. Good video.

[@neliusbresnan3766]

I remember watching a video about one of the first breech-loading rifles and I remember thinking what a massive improvement they were over muzzle-loaders. If you were on a soldier in the field with a breach-loader facing opponents with muzzle-loaders you must have been thanking your lucky stars that you weren't the other guys.

[@phlogistanjones2722]

Fascinating video as always sir. Thank you. Peaceful Skies

[@antisoda]

0:53 I did. Several times. But you were in a KZbin video from the past and couldn't hear me. :)

[@charliesierra6919]

Those dern revenuers! I have cap and ball revolvers, and they are, by nature, easier to see if they're loaded. Can't imagine trying to pull a lead ball out of the barrel though.

[@stephentyson7554]

I recommend using your ramrod make sure the projectile is pushed back against the charge that you loaded through the breach hole. Sometimes a cap may be enough to move projectile partially down the barrel (depending on how clean the barrel is…among other things) so this extra push would ensure that there is no air gap between the projectile and your charge. Someone who is overzealous may put enough 4F powder through that hole to create a problem in the presence of an air gap.

[@coreybenson3122]

After Getttysburg, rifles were found with up 9 projectiles in the barrel. This topic can be further explored and discussed in the excellent book: On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

[@grahambrown1980]

There was so much blood during that battle, I heard there were patches of ground totally drenched in blood.

[@lastmanstanding5338]

Still a significant amount of energy pushing that round out. Even for 5-8 grains.

[@Fulleraut0]

This Could Get You Killed Could should be interpreted in the past tense

[@rooster3019]

BUT, OH how we cringed as you let the vent pick and screw driver slip off against the lock finish! YIKES!

[@spyderxtra777]

I have used the screw method with a heavy brass range rod, it screwed right into the projectile without much fuss at all and I pulled it right out In less than a minute. My screw attachment had a brass bushing on it so it was impossible to hit the barrel walls with the steel screw.

[@williammorrill946]

As he tamps black powder with a metal rod. "Where'd the BOOM come from?"

[@kyleheins]

What?

[@and7barton]

This situation was happening all the time with my replica naval musket. Not through forgetting the load the powder but more usually because after repeated shots the barrel would "lead up", resulting in the ball jamming partway down the barrel. It would set off the powder and make a muffled "Clunk". I'd load a full charge into the breech after removing the nipple, screw the nipple back in, then ram the ball back as normal. Eventually, I'd wire brush the bore after every three or four shots.

[@CharlesNorgaard-n8n]

Been there and done exactly what Hickok did. One thing you need to realize about the bullet puller is that, as you screw that screw into the ball it is going to cause the ball to expand, and it is going to expand against the barrel making it even harder to pull out.

[@terrysanders2817]

Educational. Thanks!

[@jrmarshall789]

I’ll remember that the next time I’m in a musket fight.😂

[@brianmurray1395]

Absolutely beautiful rifle for civil war.

[@chrisperkins4917]

my muzzle loader has the screw extractor built in the ram rod. it's not sharp like a wood screw. it works fine. lead is very soft. only bites about 1 thread and pull it out.

[@benfromalbuquerque6083]

I’ve used a worm screw to remove a ball. Double loaded the muzzleloader because I’d forgotten there was already a load in the barrel. Also gone years between use/cleaning and clear out the chamber of gunk by removing nipple, sprinkle grains, replace nipple and fire a cap off. I’ve used a musket nipple on my sidelock now for years and never have a misfire or hang fire like I did with #10 caps.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

That is a flash pan charger. Handy tool.

[@aliceburte9278]

Thank You Hickok 👍🇺🇸

[@Ariovistvs]

IIRC in the "Löffelholz Codex" from around 1500 (book about mechanical devices) there are drawings of self cut screws on a rod with which you can get a stuck lead bullet out of the barrel. Fun fact: there's also a pages about repeating crossbows and splitting logs with gunpowder.

[@Walter-wo5sz]

5 to 10 grains of powder will still get you to lethal velocities.

[@danielgoodman3578]

Nice to know! Will want to identify a good means to de-squib if I ever get a muzzleloader. Was that screw crossthreading on you, or did it have a long end that was jamming in the powder? Or was powder still in the threads?

[@jamesbarca7229]

It hurt me to see him fumbling around with that screwdriver scratching up this classic piece of American history.

[@Brace67]

Nice work and very informative.😮

[@smilers13]

That was cool, thanks for showing us!

[@johnbeck3270]

I was out with my gran sons shooting my muzzleloaders and one of them, you guessed it, dry balled the rifle. When I told him he didn’t charge the rifle, he swore he did, well I removed the nipple, dropped a few grains of 4f into the flash hole replaced the nipple, capped the rifle and fired. The ball left the muzzle at such a slow velocity, you could see it move it made it to the target but hit really low, right at the bottom of the box we were using for a backboard. I’ve never seen a ball move so slowly, 50 cal Traditions Mountain Hawken.

[@bobclifton8021]

That no doubt happened more times than we read about. Military paper cartridges helped to eliminate that issue, but there were others.

[@longrider42]

I use a field rod with a ball puller. I also squirt some oil down the barrel. Works great.

[@jamesharrison2374]

I have used the bullet puller, it is a brass rod, and a steel screw to tap into the lead ball. Works very well.

[@corashae2185]

What do you do if you have a patch stuck in the breach with a hot powder load and a patched ball on top? Couldn't backloading cause damage?

[@happyhillbilly3466]

MARK yer ram rod and check every load!!! You will immediately know if yer load is right and powder is what you want

[@alphagt62]

And when you see that the mark doesn’t line up, you’ve already made your mistake.

[@happyhillbilly3466]

@@alphagt62 mine has a breach plug that comes out with yer fingers. easy peasy

[@alphagt62]

@@happyhillbilly3466 modern black powder are truly advanced, scope mounts and amazing accuracy, lots of features like your breech plug. And an extra week to hunt!

[@nanab256]

lol my first thought was "wtf is he doing? Some new ammo with powder in bullet?" xd

[@MrNatureboy2010]

I would be careful loading with the 4 F powder but it worked really well. When you stated it would be a "suppressed shot" , I was wondering if that report surprised you. Great vid !

[@mattsgrungy]

Nice to see Hickok's got the jiggle-peak technique down...

[@happyhome41]

Actual combat was “distracting” - going back over the battlefields afterward, it was common to find rifles that had been load multiple times, apparently by soldiers who lost track. Impressive video - being a muzzle loader myself, and I have done what you did, though in my case, it was to remove a stuck ramrod, would never have occurred to me. I have had ignition problems where I had to resort to a ball puller (and not the problem you make it out to be, as they generally have collar of brass, so the actual screw is held well off the lands).

[@txrick4879]

I read that muskets or rifles would be found on the battlefield with 2 or 3 bullets stuck in the barrel . In the confusion of battle .

[@oatis053]

General Patton once said, If everyone is thinking the same then someone is not thinking!

[@redfoxtactical8425]

One of the big benefits of shooting paper cartridges. It's basically impossible to get to the bullet without loading the powder first. Fired thousands of rounds from my USCW rifles, a lot under pressure demonstrating how quick you can reload them. Never gotten near a dry ball. Worst I get is a mouth full of powder when you get too quick on the bite lol

[@davidbeachel]

I was yelling “No Powder”! But you couldn’t hear me from South Carolina.

[@bobjimenez4464]

A little bit of Red Dot into the touch hole works miracles 😂

[@jochenreichl796]

Good information for nocive shooters. But two important additions: 1. Never push the ramrod down with the palm of your hand. Throw it down the last few inches, having your hands NOT in front of it is the safer way. I have seen ramrods getting stuck a hand deep in ceilings and been shot downrange, even after wet wiping the barrel. The devil is a squirrel... 2. Regularly remove the nipple from any muzzleloader, clean it, and install it back with some anti seize. Only seat it with two fingers, no need to torque it down like you wanted to press the juice out of it.

[@weswolever7477]

Never heard the squirrel thing before, but I’m definitely using it in the future

[@jochenreichl796]

@@weswolever7477 That is a German saying (I'm German), and I have no idea if there is an English expression for it. Please feel free to use it, language is to be alive.

[@brianschumaker5912]

That works for in the field ball removal. But if at home I have a quicker way. Fire up the air compressor and grab a rubber tip blow gun. Be careful to point in safe direction or use a bucket of sand. Set regulator at 50psi to start. Then turn air pressure up if necessary.

[@GriffHopkins]

What do you do when the powder is damp/wet and won't ignite?

[@thelradame5508]

His Springfield makes me jealous, wish I could keep mine that clean.

[@BaronFlyingClub]

Every time I pour beer I need a glass or is goes all over the table.

[@sqike001ton]

The ball extractor worked really well even at the time Sargent would carry ball extractors for just such a situation the men wouldn't carry any tools to "work" on the rifle other than a cleaning jig

[@El_musicien213]

okay let me just go back in time and show these to my ancestors thanks!

[@georgewashington3393]

There are rifled muskets at the Gettysburg museum with blown barrels from doing this in the heat of the battle.

[@marcosmota1094]

Out a delrin bushing or a stack of bushings on the threaded ram rod. Or also make the tip of the screw similar to an endmill instead of a sharp point. The blunt mill will stay on the bullet nose and chew until the threads come into contact. Pointy bullet and point threaded shank can deflect.

[@leewilkinson6372]

Most bullets have a slight flat top, or just a gentle round. Also, a screw puller will typically have a brass bushing around the edge slightly smaller than the caliber. This will keep it centered enough that it will bite. Remember, the ball is just lead. A few taps on the rod will typically be enough to set the point. In fact, I've manager to set the point before by just dropping the rod. I do use a brass rod out of an abundance of caution though.....call me picky. Lol

[@edb3877]

I wondered just what the heck Hickok45 was doing with that ball loading 1st. lol

[@colonelsanders104]

It happened to me before. We were talking with a friend on the range while reloading and we forgot to put the powder... It's not dramatic. With the right method like Hickok's, everything goes back to normal.

[@jarikinnunen1718]

They did found nine bullet in US civil war rifle in battlefield. They did some errors. In Finland is story of Turunen`s rifle, when they came of war from europe. "full like Turunen`s rifle" . At time when "Hakkapeliitta" nickname created.

[@philip4846]

British Sargent's in the Napoleonic wars carried aramrod with a corkscrew end which was very good at fixing this issue.

[@vincechebuhar4679]

Yes! It works! Have done it once!!